The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-12-31
PROFIT IN PARSNIPS.
ADVANTAGE OF This " Getabie Over Potatoes
and Host Kinds of Roots.

and Host Kinds of Roots.
With the exception of the onion, the
parsnip is probably our oldest garden
vegetable that is cultivated for the por-
ton that is produced under the surface
OF the ground. 1t was highly priced
by the ancient Romans, who believed
that it possessed valuable medicinal
qualities in addition to those that made
it desirable as an article of food. They
They raised it extensively in Italy, and
introduced It's culture into all the coun-
tries of Europe that they conquered
and colonized. Before the potato was
brought from America parsnips were
very generally eaten with meat and
fish. On the continent of Europe it
took the place of other vegetables in
soups. The introduction of the potato
and the Improvements made in the
turnip and beet caused parsnips to oc-
cupy an inferior place in the list of
edible vegetables. Very few attempts
have been made in any country to i'm
prove its character, to produce distinct
varieties, or to increase its productive
ness. Enterprising seedmen bring out
a new variety of beets and turnips al.
most every year, but the parsnip is so
little used that no one seems to think
that it would pay to make experiments
with IL view of improving it.
Failures in the potato crop have be-
come so frequent in large sections of
this country that it is desirable to find
some substitute for it. Parsnips take
the place OF common or sweet potatoes
better than almost any vegetable.
Boiled and served with milk or boiled,
cut in slices and fried, they are reished
by almost all persons. Parsnips are
easy to digest ana are quite nutritious.
As food for animals and fowls they are
deserving of far more attention than
they receive. On the islands in the
English channel they are extensively
raised for feeding to dairy cows. Many
believe that the excellence of the milk
of the cows raised CD these islands is
largely due to the parsnips they eat.
In France parsnipS are used for fatten-
ing fowl. They are boiled or steamed
and mashed, when bran or meal and
cheap fats are mixed with them. That
pork can be made from parsnips cheaper
than from potatoes seems certain. They
must be boiled to produce the best re-
suits. and should be fed in connection
with meal or some other substance
which will assist in forming fat.
Parsnips are very productive. The
average yield is five hundred bushels
per acre. The seed terminates quicker
than does the seed of carrots and bects.
The plants grow rapidly. and require
but little cultivation. Aside from The
operation of thinning, all the work can
be done with narrow cultivator drawn
by horse. Parsnips do not Suffer from
drought to the extent that potatoes,
beets and turnips do. Like carrots.
the portion of use for food are entirely
below the surface of the ground. They
are shaded by their leaves, which keep
the soil moist. Parsnips grow contnu-
ously from the time the seed germin-
ates till the ground is frozen in the fall.
There are insects that appear to be Gre
ated OH purpose to devour the foliage
OF the potato and turnips and to pune
ture the bulbs of onions. bnt an insect
intended to do injury to the parsnip is
yet to be called into being. The pars-
nip is the only vegetable that is not IN
jLred BY being frozen, and the only one
that can main all winter in the soil
where II ".- without receiving apy
injuc!. Times